The US military said Wednesday it has seen no significant reduction in Russia's combat power in Syria despite President Putin's surprise announcement this week of a partial withdrawal of his country's forces.
Colonel Steve Warren, a US military spokesman in the region, said Russian intentions remain unclear.
"We have not seen a significant reduction, frankly, in their combat power. Particularly the ground combat power remain static, the air combat power has been slightly reduced, but that's it," he said.
Warren said there were some indications of small units packing up, and eight to 10 Russian aircraft have left the country.
Putin on Monday ordered the Russian defense ministry to begin the withdrawal of the "main part" of its military contingent in Syria.
The first warplanes arrived back in Russia on Tuesday to a hero's welcome.
But Warren said the US military remains uncertain about Moscow's plans.
"There is a long list of possibilities and rather than getting into each one of them, we're going to continue to focus on fighting ISIL," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State, the extremist group that controls large parts of Syria and Iraq.
The White House, however, said Tuesday that Moscow appeared to be moving forward on its commitment to withdraw forces and US Secretary of State John Kerry said he will travel to Russia next week for a meeting with Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Russia intervened militarily in the Syrian civil war September 30 at the request of its close ally, President Bashar al-Assad, deploying about 50 combat aircraft.
It also sent more than 4,000 ground troops, artillery, tanks and about 30 combat helicopters.
The Russians have directed their operations mainly at western-backed anti-government rebels, while a US-led coalition has been waging an air campaign against IS.
Putin to decorate personnel who fought in Syria: Kremlin
Moscow (AFP) March 16, 2016 –
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday will bestow state awards on Russian military personnel who fought in Syria after ordering the withdrawal of armed forces from the war-torn country, the Kremlin said.
More than 700 soldiers and officers from the Russian air forces, ground forces and navy, and other military officials, have been invited to take part in the ceremony, the Kremlin said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Russian strongman on Monday ordered the withdrawal of most of Russian forces from Syria saying Moscow's task had been "on the whole" completed.
Russian media and pro-Kremlin observers have hailed the drawdown a political victory for the Kremlin which they said managed to buttress Moscow's ally Bashar al-Assad and break out of international isolation over Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the first Russian warplanes returned home to a hero's welcome, followed by yet more planes on Wednesday.
Activists say that Russia's operation in Syria — and the current partial pullback — appear a world away from Moscow's apparent involvement in the Ukraine crisis.
Russia officially denied that it sent its troops into east Ukraine but Kiev and the West insist Moscow deployed forces across the border to buttress the separatist insurgency.
Unlike servicemen who took part in the Syrian campaign, those who took part in the Ukraine fighting largely remained unsung: they received awards behind closed doors while those who died were buried in secret.
